The present invention relates to a portable apparatus for shaping glass by abrasion. More particularly, the present invention relates to a portable apparatus for shaping glass by abrasion wherein the glass may be shaped by cutting through the glass or by forming various shapes along the edge thereof such as beveling and rounding, which is known in the art as pencil edging.
A significant need has existed for a portable apparatus for shaping glass. It has been known in the past to break glass substantially along a straight line by scoring the glass sheet with a tool. Further, U.S. Pat. No. 2,750,674--Lee discloses an apparatus for scoring glass along a substantially straight line by utilizing such a scoring apparatus mounted on a guide rail by means of two pairs of wheels. However, this patent does not disclose any means of cutting a sheet of glass by utilizing an abrasive disk driven by a pneumatic motor nor does it disclose any means of shaping glass in other ways, such as beveling or rounding of edges. Further, large expensive machines weighing thousands of pounds in which sheets of glass are fed by the machine into a cutting or shaping apparatus may be in existence for use in factories. These machines cost many thousands of dollars and are not adaptable for use in small shops and in the field for due to, among other reasons, the lack of portability and the prohibitive cost.